[JURIST] Romanian President Traian Basescu on Monday denied that the US Central Intelligence Agency [official website] has maintained any covert prisons [JURIST report] in the country and has offered to allow investigations of two military bases used by the US military. In an interview [Le Figaro report, in French] in Paris Monday, Basescu announced, "I am categorical - there are no such prisons in Romania." Basescu's denial follows Sunday's acknowledgement by a former Romanian defense minister [JURIST report] that US planes carrying detainees might have refueled in the country. Human Rights Watch, however, has alleged [HRW press release] further involvement on the part of Romania and Poland. The two airbases that Basescu referred to are Mihail Kogalniceanu in southeast Romania and Timisoara in western Romania. Meanwhile, the EU has launched an informal investigation [JURIST report] into the alleged covert prisons in Europe, and has threatened sanctions [JURIST report] against any member state found to house such facilities. Romania currently is a candidate for EU membership. Reuters has more.